The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-09-25
THE GROUSE IN ITS HAUNTS.
ONE or THE ohMEsT or GA1rB BIRDS
AND HOW TO KILL IT

| bthII ana DO bnoN-Nvhy ~ shuueth ssoees
| There Ia no other gamo bird In this country
| to hunt for which successfully reauires such
great skill and such perfect knowledge OF its
habits as the ruiIod grouse or partridge and
| pheasant as II IL Familiarity known In various
| localities where It is found. 1t Is bird whoee
range extends almost over tho entire oonti-
| mont, although thero nro eleven other membcrs
| OF the family scntterod through the United
States from Maino to Oregon. tho pinnated
grouse, or prairie chickon. being next to tho
| ruled grouse in popularity with the sports.
man. The ruffed grouse is prolific In propa.
cation. and as hardy as 1t IL prolific. Ita ex-
treme wariness and great intelligence. and the
| dense and sometimes almost impenetrable ma
ture OF Ito chosen haunts, havo served IL wen
| In defying the skill OF tho legitimate sports-
man, tho cunning and unscrupulousness OF the
pot hunter. and the ravagos OF willy four-footsd
enemies and winged marauders In driving 1t
| from it's retreats.
| Unlike most OF tho grouse family. tho ruled
grouse Is poly0amous the cock collecting
about him half dozen hens ~ the mating
| season and forming them into his harem. MS
tons ,s N I'D % Ins With II wns
| hling the woods with that booming sound
In The ea al sSrlnp. Each hon lays at least
dozen eggs, In Wild and isolated locnlitiesi ana
the ruled grouse does not aid the hen 10 rear.
her young 6I On ths a m
During the ncubatin season thS coskf congss-
and G II End qsy
NJ Sy SssEs SI S.i %% sSs
leaves begin to. fall. whom they separate, and
seek the solitudes. alone or In pairs. It 10 Sol.
s% o as h Ho Ma q 5s
cent around wild grape vines or th2rnberry
Ssf Sss eSE esyH Rs t.
gin to fall the birds become wild and seek tho
ridges and denser thickets leaving sI tho moist
siduousfy BY the crow and tho fox. and hun
srouse ., viii sff build new nest and lay again
her FRET nest Is broken np: put fhe ses%nat
ns sa II family th n Season setting hen.
the cock when absorbed IN bis drnmming, and
the At al ~ss me
and the chicken hawk destroys many Q brYod.
The yoppng grouse pegna to AZ %hSh ten n GAYS
s 80 cempIeteiy that a whole brood Of them
who Is peering about In an effort to discover
them. and escape detection. The old bird pos
IN or on the sao that
above him Ike knot on a,mn6 or walk eyer eyer
| any sign of its presence. The firing OF gun
w fail to shtsa It Hs In which, SSny n
posons s'0 were nSiy rdH Ss
the sharp.eyed urchin who was hunting them.
been one after ssr a aesfoyeT rea
deliberately loaded and fired again, and again:
this the rud + IT, sSs
ikocEy Mountains. The hunter may stand and
shoot nifty Of these birds out Of tree; one after
Bird qaa selects them d ,Rsf order n The way
fall will do what the repeated discharge Of the
"a liz n asunts e Fsd asy &c arc always
.n.ss 4 Ssas
y he Rhansr nss e
OF lightning and clap of thundet as anything
With T9
# can whirr out Of range or out OF eight among
has got to be as sudden and sure as a man can
be made The person who ior th S;r asst time
and lash away among tho tree tops or sgr-
| rounding thickets will never forget the sight
hs sound Sn sh as he s .
laureIs, are favorito resorts Of the grouse.
times Il vii lie close and fSsh almost In under
Tue uuHtST uOSS, anu tltL okuiu WI Ilso 10"
put w tho isYt Fl nl i wii f.. nine ,d
some semetimes treena on The Way up. and some. me-.
Fss tas sPs sns S Were d Sa
sa1R sssP ss ss RsS : ssssas
Vantage Of by sportsme4 without dogs hunt
b base Of ran and his COMPUTATION going alons
the summit. Good shots will be enjoyed BY
IN ss Is ssnte tb. the
sound Of q voice will frequently cause these
to rise hnndrsd Yards 81
vii DO there Or anywhere near there the nexi
ddosksu Ia coz Certain a'i Locality for weeks.
wSpadod grouse d,oppInE Il, e /, the b, srSnnS,
can crawl. and ma hiding, place. The bird
may drop in ono spot and although the hunte.
p more than likely that the bird will be found.
II found at al, hundreds Of fee, away.
yards after receivins morta! Wound. Sports:
men. therefore who hunt, this cunning and
that It ia not only OF the utmost Importance %
haye dogs that know. their business thoroughly
hes
in the way q this Bird after It is wounded.
There is ebssontey no use in e.,
way without dog that thoroughly under
stands tho game; but thousands OF these birds
require the aid Of the Bird: dog. and many so-
called Legitimate" sportsmen have, boon
TroOlng pheasants Is q. fayorito way thai
many rural hunters have Of killing this Eame.
bird rises before the dog the latter sets up .
loud barking and follows tho bird which will
tree at once, and pay no attention to anything
but the barking dog at the foot Of the tree. It
keeps it's eyes nxed constantly. on the dog,
while tho hunter walks about tho tree OF bid
!eispro until he discovers the. position OF the
bird, whom 4 IL rs easy to kill It as It would be
That method OF killing grouse. however, 10
fair and honorabls tp that Of tho follow E9o
are in the habit OF coming. the cocks to drum
and the hens to wallow, and then, coneealinR
himself short distance away. waits until some
proud old cock appears on tho log and struts
up and down 1t, or somo demure hen settles
Waiiow In tGc dust and them rss npon Se u q.
sHspecting game from his masked battery.